Automatic sprinkler



1952 H. D. MATHIS 0.

' AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER Filed June 2 1949 INVENTOR BY HOWARD D. MATHIS ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 1, 1952 AUTOMATIC seem-Kilian Howard --D.' Mathis, Edwardsville, 111. Applicati n Janeen, masses! in. 100,116

of is concealed, providing automatic protection bothabove; and below the ceiling.

An important advantage of my invention lies in the fact that it operates automatically at either of two points to release the fire-extinguishing chemical, that is, at the bottom of the structure'beneath the ceilingand at a point above the ceiling, whereas extinguishers of this general type as previously constructed operate only at the lower portion thereof. Another advantage of the invention is due to its novel mounting, which permits the bulky glass portion of the structure t be p t ned above the. ceiling where it will be, concealed against accidental breakage, and still another feature is that the presence of the structure does not detract from the appearance of a room since, due to its position above the. coiling, it nnot be seen from the interior of the room.

Inv the drawingsvFi 1 is a cross-sectional perspective. view illustrating the structure mounted above a ceiling ready for operation.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view taken onlin 2Z, Fi 1. i trating the means for ecuri the structure to the ceiling.

In Fig. 1, are shown a floor A, joists B, and a "ceiling Q. all, of. these parts being partly broken away and. all. bein of ordinary c ns ru tion.

To receive the fire. extinguishing stru turer n op ning is cut into the ceiling Grand a flush. plate i of plastic or other non-conducting material of somewhat larger diameter than said opening is mounted on the underside of the ceiling so as to close. said opening, but leaving the spray nozzle (to be described later) exposed below the ceiling. A split metal ring, is mounted in the opening of the ceiling C, and this ring is formed of rigid niaterialand has an outwardly extending, corrugated, horizontal flange 2 and a downwardly extending vertical flange it; the ri bei f ch dimensions that the vertical flange 3 lies against 'ringrfthus serving to secure the flush plate i and V the ring 23 securely in position adjacent the 1. claim. (01. 169. 26)

opening in the ceilin all of which is. clearly shown in Fig. 1-. I

The flu h plate. I is cut out at its center, as shown at andirmn this out-onta rigid lions: ins .i of plastic or other non-conducting mate rial dependa'said housing-being, provided with an outwardly ext nding flang s which rests upon the upper surface of the hush plate I to. retain the housing i in position. A layer of insulation 9 is positioned upon the flange 8, and a metal alarm signal contactor plate In rests upon the insulation 9, the plate It being provided with a central aperture H. A funnel-shaped member l2 of plastic or other non-conducting material is mounted upon the plate it, said funnel-shaped member having an out=turned flange is which rests upon said plate. Iii, and rivets Hi passing through the flange l3, plate 10, insulation 9, flange 8, and flush plate I secure all these parts firmly ether, with the funnel sh ped m mber l2. n upr ht pos t on assh wznin. ie- The oontactor plate, to is provided with apertures of larger dimensions than therivets. M, so that the rivets may pass through said plate Ill without touching the same; or, preferred, the, walls of said apertures could be lined with non-conduct ing, fibrous material. (not, shown). A. pearshaped glass container 59 rests within the upper portion of the funnel-shaped member I2 so that its smallest part extends downinto the funnelshaped member to a point somewhat above the plate lo, and its upper portion extends upwardly beyond. said funnel-shaped member. A volatile liquid L is introduced, into the glass container 50, after which said container is hermetically sealed.

A bullet l5 within the housing I has an clon gated stem 16, which extends through an aperture. in the floor of the housin 1., said stem havinga notch H in that portion thereof which ex tends beyond said floor. The bullet i5 is surrounded by a compressed coil spring !8, and the spring in is enclosed within a metal sleeve contactor 19. The sleeve. l9 has a metal top closure 2.9 rivited hereto. he clo ure 2i) bein f greater diameter than the aperture H the p ate In. and the. closure Ziihas a central. ap rture through which the .unperiportionoi thebull t. l5. protrudes. Beneath thenoor or. the housing a. pair of arms. 2| engage the notch .11 of th stem of the bullet, said arm being secured against spr nging apart by a fuse 22, which arrangement, it will be understood, serves to hold the stem 16, and consequently the bullet 15, in the position shown in Fig. l, compression of the prin i8 bein maintained by the eng gement. oithe arm 2.! with'the stem of the bullet l5.

V rigirisnpp ting braclsettfi or" plasticor other non-condnoting rnaterial exten s upwardly along side oii .bnt spaced slightly away- .irorn. the tunnel shaped member'12, said bracket havin'g'a ho'rie zontally extending flange 24 at its lower portion which is attached to the flush plate I by rivets 25. As will be noted from Fig. 1, that portion of the bracket 23 which extends upwardlyfrom the flange 24 conforms approximately to the shape of the funnel-shaped member l2, and when it reaches the upper portion of said member l2 it extends outwardly for a short distance, and then terminates in an approximately vertical section 26.

A metal alarm signal contactor 21, supported by the section 26, extends to a point just clear of the glass container 50. The contactor 21 has an aperture 28 similar to the aperture and within the metal contactor 21 a bullet 29 is mounted and surrounded by a compressed coil spring 30, which is enclosed by a metal sleeve 3| similar to the metal sleeve I9, the stem of the bullet 29 extending through the section 26 and being held in place by a pair of arms 32 which engage said stem to retain it in position, and the arms 29 being prevented from spreading apart by a fuse 33. From What has been said, it will be apparent that the assembly just described with respect to the retaining and releasing of the bullet 29 is similar to the assembly including the housing bullet I5, and associated elements, so that more detailed description of the last-described assembly is deemed unnecessary.

A conducting wire 34 is soldered to the sleeve contactor l9 and extends upwardly, passing through a notch 35 in the contactor l0. At its upper terminal point the wire 34 is soldered to a metal element 36 which is mounted on the upper rim of the funnel-shaped member |2. Another conducting wire 31 is attached to the metal element 36 and to sleeve contactor 6|. Another conducting wire 38 is attached to contactor I and extends to terminal 39. Another conducting wire 40 is attached to the contactor 21 and terminal 39. The terminal 39 is also mounted on the rim of the funnel-shaped member I2, and the wire 38 is soldered thereto. Conducting Wires 4| and 42 attached to the metal terminals 36 and 39, respectively, lead to a source of electrical current and also to an electrically operated alarm signal, but since such alarm signal in itself and such source of current do not form a part of the present invention but may be of any appropriate type, they have not been illustrated in the drawings and will not be described. The two conductors l9 and 3| are wired in parallel, and the plate I0 and contactor 21 are also wired in parallel. Conducting wires 4| and 42 are also in series extending to the source of electrical current and the alarm signal.

In operation the procedure is as follows:

Suppose a fire starts at a point below the ceiling C. The heat of the flames will melt the fuse 22, thereby releasing the arms 2| and permitting them to spread apart, which disengages them from the notch I! in the stem of the bullet l5. Obviously, when this restraint is removed from the bullet it relieves the pressure on the coil spring l8, so that the spring expands instantly and carries up with it with considerable force the bullet l5, and the bullet crashes through the bottom of the glass container, shattering said container and releasing the volatile liquid L, and upon contact with the air said liquid is transformed into a gas which has a fire-extinguishing quality, as is well understood.

In the event a fire should break out at a point above the ceiling, the same procedure would take place with respect to the fuse assembly in the support 23; that is to say, the fuse 33 would be melted by the heat of the fire, releasing the arms 32 and consequently the bullet 29 which, through instantaneous expanding action of the coilspring 30, would shatter the glass of the container 50, and thus release the liquid therein so that it would be transformed into a fire-extinguishing gas upon contact with the heated air.

Vents V are provided in the funnel-shaped member l2 and the housing 1 through which either the liquid or the gas may escape when the glass container 50 has been shattered by either or both of the bullets l5 or 29.

The alarm system operates as follows:

In the event of a fire underneath the ceiling, upon expansion of the coil spring I8 as above described it would carry upwardly with it the sleeve contactor 9. It will be remembered that this sleeve contactor has a metal closure 20, which is of larger diameter than the aperture II in the contactor plate |0, so that said plate I 0 serves as a stop for the metal closure 20. When the metal closure 20 contacts the-metal contactor plate l0, it acts as a circuit closer for current through the wire 34, attached to terminal 36, and through the wire 38, attached to the terminal 39, both terminals being connected, as heretofore mentioned, to an alarm signal (not shown).

Should the fire break out above the ceiling, the same procedure would take place with respect to the upper assembly associated with the support 23; that is to say, the instantaneous expansion of the coil spring 30 would permit contact of the metal closure of the sleeve 3| with the contactor 27, and consequent flow of current through the wire 40 to the metal terminal 39, after which the first described flow of current would be reversed so that the wire 4| would set off the alarm.

I claim:

A fire extinguisher of fracturable material for mounting above a ceiling having an opening therein to permit the insertion therethrough of said fire extinguisher, a collapsible ring having a vertical portion and a horizontal portion, said ring being adapted to surround the opening in said ceiling, a plate covering the opening in said ceiling, bolts passing through said plate, members on said bolts for contacting said ring to securely hold said plate in position, said plate being also provided with a central opening, a portion on said fire extinguisher for protruding through said opening in said plate, the main portion of said fire extinguisher being above said plate and said ceiling and means associated with said projecting end portion of said fire extinguisher forfracturing said fire extinguisher when a predetermined degree of heat prevails.

HOWARD D. MATHIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,065,508 Crawford June 24, 1913 1,486,363 Cash Mar. 11, 1924 1,565,036 Tank Dec. 8, 1925 1,776,221 Gillen Sept. 16, 1930 1,923,660 Bronander Aug. 22, 1933 1,969,880 Evans Aug. 14, 1934 1,982,653 Forman Dec. 4, 1934 2,082,090 Wittig June 1, 1937 2,138,149 Evans Nov. 29, 1938 

